Precious metals and in particular gold have been a store of value for investors for thousands of years. Throughout history the purchasing power of gold has remained stable. As a result, gold offers an attractive hedge against cash or stocks. The current financial turmoil has shown that most people should consider gold as part of their savings/investment portfolio.

However, many people don’t know how to buy gold. But, you will be happy to know that it’s more straightforward than you think. There are many different options such as Gold ETFs, Gold Bullion, Gold Coins, Gold Futures and Stocks. When deciding which way you would like to buy gold you must have a clear understanding of the reason why you are buying gold.

In most cases the average person should take a serious look at buying Gold Bullion. In this case, I would recommend storing the Gold in a vault instead of taking delivery of it and storing it in your home. This is the safest option as you own actual physical Gold. Also, you don’t have to worry about security and insurance as these are normally taken care of by the vaulting company concerned. Another benefit of storing your Gold Bullion in a vault is liquidity. It’s much easier to sell gold that is stored in a reputable vault than it is to sell gold that has been in your possession.

However, many people like collecting Gold coins. It’s a good idea to explore both avenues.

There are online systems that allow you to buy gold and store them in vaults. One such system that I use personally is BullionVault. If you are an individual investor buying gold online and storing it in a vault in ether New York, London or Zurich using a system such as BullionVault is a good idea. You should check it out before you make any definite purchasing decisions.

It’s really easy to set up an account. You can do it instantly. They also give you some free Gold so you can try out their system before you decide to purchase gold using it.